Stage 4: Understanding the Judge's Decision

If the Immigration Judge denies your case, you have 30 days to appeal their decision. If the Immigration Judge makes their decision during your final hearing, the 30-day period begins that same day. However, if the Immigration Judge mails or sends you a decision after the hearing, the 30-day period begins on the date listed on the decision. 

 

The first step for appealing a judge’s decision involves appealing the decision during the trial. To do this, you should “reserve appeal” with your immigration judge. You must reserve your appeal, otherwise you may not have the opportunity to present your case to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).

 

The second step that you must take to appeal the judge’s decision is to file your notice of appeal within 30 days of the decision. You must fill out and submit the Form EOIR-26 to do so. In this form, you will put in only the basic information behind your appeal. Follow the instructions on the form for how to submit the Notice EOIR-26 and how to pay the fee. 

 

The third step is to submit a request for a Record of Proceedings, which is a record of your entire individual hearing with your immigration judge. To do this, you will have to submit a Form EOIR-59. You can follow the instructions on this web page for how to submit. You will need this to be able to identify where you think your immigration judge committed an error. Please note that there are instances in which this Record is sent out automatically when the Notice of Appeal is filed.

 

Once you have completed these three administrative steps, you should put into writing all of your arguments about why your Immigration Judge was wrong in their decision. It is advisable to consult with a lawyer to assist in preparing and submitting the legal arguments.